you were there
by loves-Boy-Slash
Summary: Ennis was there for Jack when he needed him the most. AU ! Story Please leave a review if you read :
1. Chapter 1

You were there - Chapter One  
Pairing: Ennis / Jack  
Summary: Ennis was there for Jack when he needed him the most!  
Disclaimer: The characters of Ennis,Jack etc etc ... belong to Annie Proulx. No disrespect is intended.  
Feedback: that would make me very happy!  
Special thanks to my beta **cyberling2205**

Jack with a bottle of whiskey in hand stares out into the midnight sky knowing in a few weeks that there would be a patch of freshly fallen snow snug like in a blanket - he can't remember who said that but ever since then he has not been able to get it out of his head - on the ground of Lighting Flats, his folks' place where he was raised.  
He knows that he will likely be the one to have to clear away all the snow when it comes - a job he wouldn't mind so much, if his father just let him be long enough to actually concentrate on the task at hand.  
He can already hear his father putting him down just like all the other times while he was growing up.  
"I swear my father is just like a broken record," Jack says one night while up in his room. "A broken record. I can probably guess what he is gonna say to me before he even says it," he says out loud again like someone is there to hear him besides himself.

He then laughs "Why the hell am I talking to myself for?" he shakes his head and goes back to daydreaming....


	2. The Daydream

Ennis pulls Jack's hand to his mouth and ever so gently kisses Jack's knuckles.  
"That summer," Ennis says, "when we split up, I had bad gut cramps!"

Jack puts his arms around Ennis and, finally getting his courage up, tells Ennis how he has a plan so they can be together just like this always. "We could have a lil' cow and calf operation. It'd be a sweet life".

Ennis sighs. "Look, I goddamn hate that you're going to drive away tomorrow, but I just don't know…"

Jack grabs hold of Ennis. Ennis tries to pull away but Jack has a tight grip on Ennis's arm.

"Look, I know you're afraid. So am I. You may not believe it but I am," Jack says with tears running down his face. Ennis is looking over Jack's shoulder. He lowers his gaze so that Jack won't see that he is crying too.

"I love you, Ennis Del Mar, and I know that you love me, too, though you've never told me so I still know you do," Jack says.

"I do," Ennis says now looking directly into those eyes of blue that he loves so much.

Jack smiles and says "This ain't no little thing that's happened here!" "I know," Ennis says again trying to avoid Jack's stare.

"So, please let's just get out of here," Jack pleads, but before he hears Ennis's answer he awakes in cold sweat. It's midnight and he's lying in bed, his pillow all wet.

That's the way it's been these past couple nights since returning home after Ennis let him down once more. He can never blame Ennis, though. It's not his fault. Hell, maybe he should blame himself instead.

His father always says he is good for nothing!

So before going to sit on the top steps of the back-porch, he opens the fridge and grabs a bottle of whiskey. He has been sneaking it in the house every night just for this reason and he takes a drink once his parents go to bed.


	3. Been missing you

While sitting outside he realizes that he forgot his jacket and just as that thought struck him, there goes a strong gust of wind that sends shivers down his spine and makes his whole body shake - he is freezing.

"Nothing could be colder than not having my arms wrapped around with Ennis Del Mar," Jack thinks to himself. He stays put, though, and waits while two tears fall down his face before he takes another swallow of whiskey.

A few hours later Jack is drunk and still feeling lost. He could stay out here and freeze to death, but he has to go pee, so he gets up. He is stiff from sitting there for so long.

He knows he's drunk when he falls flat on the ground and even though he still has to pee, he is pretty sure he'll just fall down again the second step he takes. So, he just lies in the soft, wet grass staring at the stars while he feels his own piss running down his leg.

"Man, I gotta lay off the booze," Jack laughs to himself.

After all that, the day finally rolls around.

Time to meet back up with Ennis.

Jack swears on his life that he will try anything to get Ennis to leave with him.

Jack desperately wants to start that sweet life with Ennis. He knows that if he could just get Ennis to go with him, sooner or later all or at least some of Ennis's fears would fly away like dust in the wind as long as they were together.

"It's like my life depends on it," thinks Jack "and maybe it does. I don't think I can live without you, Ennis," Jack says softly to a bird perched on a tree.

When Ennis pulls up, they kiss just like they did before, but this time Jack takes the lead. When their lips part and they get a few breaths in, Ennis asks "Well, how you been?" "I've been missing you," Jack says.  
Ennis just gives his all to familiar grunt.


	4. Changing things

"Ennis, let's get out of here, take a few days off. It gets so bad; I just can't stand it no more. Just throw your stuff in my truck."

Ennis cuts off Jack by saying: "No, I'm sorry, you have to realize how hard this is for me." Jack is crushed at hearing his words.

He can't listen anymore; he doesn't want to. He's heard it all before.

"It seems that Ennis is a broken record, too. Hell, so am I," thinks Jack while walking to get back into his truck.

"If you change your mind, you know where I'll be and… Ennis, I love you with all my heart and soul. I just want us to be together. Is that so wrong?" and with that Jack drives off and leaves Ennis just standing in the dust.

For weeks since then Ennis hasn't been able to eat or sleep and when he does sleep, he has the most horrible dreams.

So one night he decides to call Jack.

He is still unsure about what Jack wants, but he just has to hear Jack's voice.

"Hello?" When he hears that a woman picked up the phone he knows it has to be Mrs. Twist and just as he is about to hang up, he hears: "Ennis? Is this Ennis Del Mar?" After a long silence Ennis is finally able to speak. "How do you know who I am?" Ennis listens as she says: "I overheard Jack saying your name while he was asleep." She then asks Ennis if he knew the saying 'Snug like in a blanket'. "Yes that's what I tell my girls when they go to bed, but how…?" "Jack…,"she says. "Oh. Where is Jack?" Ennis whispers. "Why don't you come and find out yourself?" "I don't know where to look, if he ain't home," Ennis says. "Well, he sure likes to drink a lot and there's a bar down the road from here," says Mrs. Twist and at that Ennis jumps in his truck heading out to find that bar and Jack.


	5. foolish mistakes

"Hey," Jack says. "Hey yourself," says someone at the bar next to Jack. "You wanna go outside?" Jack looks at him and just nods his head yes.

All the way there Ennis is thumping his fingers on the steering wheel.

"So you wanna do it right here?" the man says to Jack as he pulls down his pants. "Yeah, whatever," Jack says in a drunken slur.

Ennis turns off the radio. He is so frantic like if he doesn't get there soon, he will discover something horrible once he does get there and with that thought he steps on the gas as far as he can.

Jack gets down on his knees and notices a truck that looks a whole lot like Ennis's truck.

"It can't be," thinks Jack. Ennis would not choose me over what's supposedly the right way of living.

"Hey," the man says. Jack looks at the man and the sun is blaring in his eyes so he doesn't see what the man has in his hands. Then all of a sudden a truck pulls up right along Jack's truck.


	6. Painful realization

Ennis jumps out and calls at Jack.

Jack turns around to see Ennis standing by his truck. "Ennis…," Jack's face lights up like the fourth of July.

While Jack is facing Ennis, the man has the most sadistic sneer on his face.

Ennis, who is also blinded by the sun, doesn't notice what's in the man's hand, but he does notice the man's sneer.

Ennis wishes he had a weapon.

Jack, still not believing that Ennis is here, is on his knees on the ground. What he really wants, though, is to be in Ennis's embrace.

The man looks at Ennis, or so Ennis thinks, then nods and looks at Jack. In the meantime, Jack sees two men he doesn't recognise at first, but then remembers they were the two men sitting right beside the man Jack came out here with in the first place.

The man thinks this is the perfect opportunity.

He swings the heavy, metal object right into the left side of Jack's face.

Ennis sees the man swing his arm back and realizes that the man is holding a tire iron. "Jack!" Ennis screams in warning, but that's all he can get out because two men jump from behind and start attacking him. They don't have weapons so Ennis is able to fight them off quickly and easily. He's determined not to let this happen, even if it costs him his life.

Jack is not going to die like this.

Jack is lying on the grass covered with blood trying to think of something to take his mind off the pain, but the only thing he can think of is that this might be the last he and Ennis see each other. That thought only brings more pain.

He begins to cry knowing that he is gonna die like this with Ennis watching it happen.

"Hell, my dad was right. I am a screw-up", Jack thinks to himself. "Ennis was right, I am a fuck-up. How could I put Ennis in that kind of danger? He might die too and it would all be my fault. "

Ennis looks at the man standing over Jack's motionless body. Without wasting any time, he goes to his truck and grabs his shotgun.

"Listen here, you sorry son of a bitch, you get the hell away from my man or I swear on my parents' grave I'll Shoot your sorry ass without a moment's hesitation - you sorry excuse for a human being! "

Ennis goes to Jack. The man steps back. "If he dies…," Ennis threatens. "You're trying to be the tough macho man, huh Ennis?" Jack says in slow gasping breaths.

"Don't talk Jack. You're gonna be alright. I'm here".

Jack manages a weak smile, but it's killing him to even twitch.

Ennis picks up Jack as gently as he can while still holding him in his arms. He puts him in the truck and before getting in to drive to the nearest hospital, he swings the gun at the man who tried to take his Rodeo away. His Jack.


	7. in the hospital

While in the waiting area, Ennis wants to call Mrs Twist but he does not want to leave the hospital and he knows she has no other way here. So, he decides to not call until he hears what the doctor has to say.

"," the doctor says "Uh, Del Mar," Ennis says, "We're half-brothers," Ennis lies to the nurses. He knows he will not get any information otherwise.

"How is he? Is he gonna make it?" Ennis asks stuttering.

He is terrified he was too late for Jack, that he couldn't do more, that he didn't just grab Jack and take him away where it would be just the two of them.

"He is severely hurt and we still don't know the extent of the damage. Let's just say he is not out of the woods yet."

"Can I see him?" Ennis asks. The doctor closes his eyes and nods "Yes. The nurse will show you to his room."

"Oh, Jack," Ennis whispers. He walks over to where Jack is, sits down and holds Jack's hand. He stayed there the entire time Jack was in the hospital.

A week later Ennis calls Mrs. Twist to tell her the good news "Jack gets to go home today."

Jack is still very sore when he is being helped out of the truck by Ennis "I'm just sore but I don't have broken legs, you know, I can walk on my own," Jack says.

"Sure you can," Ennis replies and rolls his eyes because as soon as he says it, Jack almost falls to the ground. Fortunately, the truck door breaks his fall.

"OK, so I'm a lil' jiggly. Give me a break, I've been in bed for a week."

Ennis just shakes his head.

"You'll finally beat this ranch into shape, huh?" John Twist says. "It took my son to almost die for you to do it," John Twist says once more.

"You don't talk to Ennis that way," Jack shouts into his father's face.

"Look, I don't care if you are hurt. You show me some respect or I will punch you into next week," John Twist says with a sneer.

Ennis grabs Jack's arm, pulls him aside gently and then goes nose to nose with John Twist saying "If you ever talk to Jack like that again…" Ennis back walks John Twist into the wall by an inch with each word he says.

"I'll say it again… if you ever lay a finger on Jack again, you will be in your family plot sooner than you think," Ennis growls.

Once he steps back from Jack, John Twist is backed all the way into the wall. All the rage and anger Ennis has been feeling, disappears as soon as he looks into Jack's eyes. The eyes of the man he loves. His Jack. The one he would die for!


	8. Happy ending

While Jack and Ennis lie in bed, Jack asks Ennis what made him change his mind. Ennis tells him about the nightmares he'd been having.

"Jack," Ennis says in a childlike trembling voice, "In my nightmares you get killed 'cause some people attack you with tire irons and you die. You choke to death on your own blood in a field. I wasn't there, I didn't know or I swear to God I would have died for you."

"Hey, hey, it's OK, it's all over," Jack says smiling. He puts his hand on Ennis's face and wipes the tears away.

"You know I had a dream, too," Jack says. "Oh, yeah? What was it about?" Ennis asks.

"It don't matter. It's already come true," Jack says smiling from ear to ear. Ennis then grabs hold of Jack and they kiss. "Ain't nothing like this, Rodeo" Ennis says.

"Yeah, that's what I've been trying to tell ya cowboy."

Jack then kisses Ennis and they lie there holding hands.

The End.

Authors note: If you would like to see the sequel then please leave a review saying so I've already wrote 18 chapters to the sequel but I won't upload it here in less I get some reviews so please let my know how you like it even its just a smily face but just leave a review please :)


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